Community Involvement

If you are looking to step outside of the classroom and use your psychology major in the real world or to try on aspects of a future career, then you should consider enrolling in PSYC 396N: Internships in Psychology. This course lets you earn academic credit working or volunteering with a community agency. Structured assignments are designed to help you transfer learning from psychology coursework to the “real world” and to reflect on your career goals and interests.

You can see a recent syllabus here.

As a psychology major, you are learning to think critically and scientifically and to work effectively with diverse groups of people; because these skills are relevant in virtually every setting, you can complete an internship in virtually any setting that fits your professional goals and personal interests.

Students are responsible for contacting an agency to arrange the placement and completing a Learning Agreement.

Students who need assistance locating an internship placement are encouraged to work with their advisor to identify the skills and experiences they’d like to cultivate and then with the UT Center for Career Development to review specific placement options.  We especially recommend the Handshake portal via Career Development.   If internship providers contact the Psychology Department directly with placement opportunities, we post those to Handshake and when appropriate, also send them over email to all eligible majors. 

Students may earn 3 credits each semester, with up to 6 credits counting toward the major.

Students may also earn academic credit for being trained in active listening skills and working on a crisis hotline.  For more information, visit https://contactlistens.org/volunteer/crisis-line-specialist-training/.